Iraq welcomes Turkish decision to withdraw troops from the north

BAGHDAD, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Iraq on Monday welcomed an
announcement by Turkey that it would pull its troops back from a
base in northern Iraq, and said it hoped the withdrawal would be
completed.

The deployment of around 150 troops to the camp this month
prompted Iraq to accuse Turkey of violating its sovereignty and
lodge a formal complaint at the U.N. Security Council.

Turkey withdrew some troops to another base inside Iraq's
Kurdistan region last week and said it would continue to pull
out of Nineveh province, where the camp is located. It did not
say how many troops would be moved or where to.

"The council of ministers discussed the crisis with Turkey
and reiterated its welcome of Turkey's announcement that it will
withdraw from Iraqi territory," the Iraqi government said in a
statement.

Turkey had said it was deploying the troops to train an
Iraqi militia to fight Islamic State.
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Isabel Coles and Kevin
Liffey)